“Hey, I’m just anticipating potential older brother judgment. You can do whatever you’d like to my body, whenever and however, and I will be happy to do the same for you. That has no bearing of your status as an empowered, respectable woman.”
She hopped off the bed and strutted gloriously naked, stopping inches in front of him, hands on her hips with snarky rebellion. Gazing up, he hooked his hands around her legs and trailed his fingertips up the backs of her thighs. She rolled her eyes. “Finn?”
He leaned forward and trailed his tongue along the line of her quad. She may not think she had muscle, but damn, she was so wrong. “Yeah?” he asked, nipping where he’d licked.
Chuckling, she said, “I don’t have the slightest fear about you ever lying to me.” Backing out of his reach, she headed into the bathroom.
He gave her a minute, waited for the shower to flip on, then snuck on in. And she was clearly expecting him. After a very, very long shower in which she did some very creative actions with her mouth and fulfilled another of his shower fantasies—yes, he had a list—they were running way behind schedule.
Her living room was packed with furniture, mostly in boxes waiting to be assembled, all stacked against one wall. Stopping in the middle, he turned around. “I’m sorry, I was going to help you with the furniture today.”
Haley shrugged. “No worries. I’m ahead on my posts anyway, so it can wait.”
“Yeah, but I keep distracting you.”
“I haven’t gone hiking in ages and would rather get outside. How about we’ll hike today, then you can help me tomorrow before you head to work. Have you been to the old logging road off Tahoma?”
Strolling to the entry, he snagged his shoes from the boot tray she’d placed next to the door to the garage. “Of course. Foothills’ equivalent of make-out point. Lost my virginity off that trail.”
She giggled. “I guess I was too young for that last time I lived here.”
“There are many great spots to sneak out of sight and see everything nature has to offer.” Standing on one foot, he pulled on his shoe and pulled the laces tight.
She wandered to the kitchen and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. “Perhaps not this time, but you’ll have to show me the good spots one of these days.”
He accepted a cup and looked over the massive open space where a living room should be. “I can crash here tonight, so I can give you a hand with this before I go to work tomorrow? If you want help.”
She shook her head and grinned at him. “You are in quite the hurry to use up that box of condoms.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m in a hurry, but I’d hate for any to go unused. What a waste that would be.” He pulled her in for a last taste, hating that he was going to have to behave himself for the rest of the day. “Meet you there?”
“Yeah. You sure you want to take your pretty car off-roading? From the sounds of things, that road isn’t any more maintained than it was when I was a kid.”
“I’ll snag a ride with Asher; he lives right down the road from me.” He stole one more last kiss, then headed out.
Back home, his siblings were at the breakfast table, his dad scrolling on his phone. Probably on Facebook again. Guy was hooked on social media; his Instagram posts were hilarious.
Finn hiked upstairs and changed into athletic clothes, pulling on his knee brace, and popped a few ibuprofen in anticipation of a rough day. Asher had agreed to pick him up on the way out; a little too eagerly, actually.
In the kitchen, Finn packed a collection of soft-sided coolers with sandwiches with some of the new recipes Pops and Evan were trying out, added some chips, fruit.
Pops sauntered into the kitchen, watching him pack the ten-person meal. “Hungry?”
“Ha. No. Going hiking.”
“With Haley? I know she’s been to the pub a few times, but do you think she’ll eat all that?”
“Smartass. Yes, she will be there, but Grady and Zane and the others will be there too. It’s your fault for having all this good food around. Whenever I go out with the gang now, I’m volunteered to cater.”
“Huh. You’re with Haley a lot lately.”
“Yep.”
“Huh.”
Ignoring whatever Pops was getting at, Finn threw in the icepacks and tossed the bags into a box, putting his lunch, plus a few water bottles, into his backpack. Asher’s truck crunched over the gravel drive, saving him from having to dwell on his dad’s implications. Nowhere in the rebound rules did it mention you had to limit the time you spent together. Wasn’t that the point? A whole lotta sex with someone that made you feel… alive? Without any pressure or judgment?
Dashing outside, he found Asher’s shiny truck in the drive, engine still running. Asher and Sophie sat in the cab, leaned into each other, visiting intimately over the center console while they waited. They were good together, no weirdness like so many relationships. He’d never once heard them argue about where or when or who, never criticizing or doubting. No puppy eyes wishing for a little affection that wasn’t coming.
